BA Venture Partners of Foster City, which provides capital and expertise to start-up technology and health care companies, announced on Aug. 3 that Rob Herb has joined the firm as managing director.

Herb joins BA Venture following more than 20 years with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), the largeSunnyvale chip company. During the past four years he served as AMD's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

"We are delighted to welcome Rob to the team," said Managing Director Kate Mitchell, in a release.

"We'll benefit greatly from his expertise in semiconductors in the consumer technology space, as we identify and evaluate investments. In addition, our portfolio companies will benefit from his broad operating experience, helping them gain the traction in the market they need to be successful."

BAVP announced the closing of BAVP Fund V11, a $400 million fund, in February 2005. The company plans to invest the proceeds of the fund over the next four years.

The fund's team will be targeting development-stage opportunities in semiconductors, networking and consumer electronics, among other business categories, the company said.